2nd Series 05/10 - Unwelcomed Visitor
by Laura the infamous B
Summary: Ace finds something unexepectedly one morning...


Unwelcome Visitor

**Unwelcomed Visitor**   
by: Laura Boeff

Ace wandered out of the bathroom in good spirits, one towel wrapped around his waist as he scrubbed another through his hair. At his entrance into the large bedroom Zina had perked up from the section of bed she had commandeered upon Ace's departure. The large panther hopped down and strolled over, rubbing expansively against Ace's still damp legs.   
"Hey, cut that out," Ace complained, trying to shove her away as large clumps of shed panther fur stuck to his legs. Zina loved to use him as her own personal grooming post whenever the chance arrived.   
"Zina, stop that," Ace ordered as the large cat gave him a smug meow and ambled on back to the bed, where she hopped up, curling back up in a ball as Ace tried, unsuccessful, to free himself of the black cat hair sticking to his legs.   
"Furry little.." he muttered under his breath. Panthers! Ace sighed and gave up. The black hair would fall off once his skin dried. It damn well better. If not, his legs were going to be itchy the rest of the day. And he didn't have time for another shower. Not that Zina wouldn't hesitate to try that stunt a second time as well.   
Casting a small glare at Zina -who only returned it with a lazy yawn- Ace headed over to the dresser and hunted up a comb to sort out the damp mop of black hair with it's three white strips. Ace chuckled at the sight of himself in the mirror. When wet, the white stripes had a tendency to blend into the black, all of it become a wild mess, making it a fit rival for Cosmo's own red mop.   
"Not for long," he laughed softly as he found the comb at last. Buried underneath his wallet and half a dozen rogue scraps of paper he'd freed from his pockets the night before. He started to draw the comb through his hair, then stopped.   
And looked.   
Hard.   
Ace frowned and leaned a little closer, eyes narrowing as he stared into the mirror.   
What.. was that? And where had it come from?   
Ace glared.   
-That- did not belong there! No way, no how. Not there. Not today, not tomorrow, not even ten years from now!   
He stared harder, as if he could will it away. Alter the apparition that had taken shape very much without his permission. Like heck if he would have allowed that to happen if he knew about it. But, stare as he might, the scene did not change. There it stood. Clear as day and proud as a peacock.   
A gray hair.   
Like hell! He was too young for this. Ace put the comb down and glared at the offending gray hair. The white strip he had been born with, and its two matching counterparts his magic had gifted him with, he could tolerate. But this.. this.. intruder?   
Nope. No chance in hell.   
And just how had it gotten there in the first place? Ace drew in a heavy sigh.   
Oh, he had an idea how it got there. He could name a dozen or so off the top of his head. Such as Cosmo suddenly becoming convinced he could pull off a flight spell with the proper incentive. Then promptly throwing himself from the Magic Express's roof! Or Vega deciding that, yes, he could stop a rampaging null-grav car by just using his body as a barrier. Or, maybe it was less extravagant reasons. It could be his line of work. The day in and day out trials of running a show and dealing with seemingly every moron born; from stage manager to TV exec. Or, his little hobby of crime fighting. Going up against Blackjack once again. Dodging death, or destruction, or generally just something that would ruin his day.   
Ace glared. Well, it didn't matter what the reason was. The little gray hair announcing its presence in the shimmering black mass of his hair was simply not welcomed. Not at all!   
Sooo, what to do about it? That decision came quickly and easily. Ace plucked the offending little sucker with a wince. Glared at it pinched between his fingers. Then, he took a great amount of satisfaction as he pulverized it into magical dust.   
Hah!   
Let that be a warning to any other rogue hairs that got the bright idea to spontaneously change color without his permission!   
Feeling decidedly better about that, Ace picked up his comb again as Angel burst into existence in a glittering shimmer of light.   
"Ace?" the computer called softly, floating by him.   
Ace raised a wary eyebrow. "Yes, Angel?"   
"I require a clarification on a slang term, Ace," she said softly.   
"Okay, shoot."   
"What does the saying, 'Off into the wild blue yonder' mean?"   
"And where would you hear that?"   
"From Cosmo, when I asked him what he was doing on the top of the Magic Express."   
Ace groaned as he took off running. Perhaps it was his imagination, perhaps not, but he could swear he could feel all the gray hair's future children being born even as he ran.   



End file.
